The present disclosure is directed to a vending machine data processing system which ideally finds application to newspaper vending machines, and is subject to use in other types of vending equipment, particularly those vending devices which involve route sales personnel. It is not uncommon, speaking of the context of a newspaper publisher, to have a typical distribution warehouse located in a neighborhood where there are numerous vending machine outlets for the newspaper. Sales of newspapers through vending machine racks and the like involves constant monitoring of the sales volume. Heretofore, route personnel have driven to a variety of vending machines or manned sales points, typically using a small cargo hauling truck, loaded with newspapers, to distribute the newspapers perhaps once per day, or perhaps several times as might occur assuming there are different (e.g., morning and evening edition) newspapers vended from the respective outlets. Historically, the route personnel have been required to remove the stale papers that were in the vending machine from the prior day or prior edition (they are normally called returns) and place new or fresh copies of the newspaper in the vending machine (this is normally termed the draw). The draw basically identifies the average number of papers sold from a specific vending machine over a given period of time, typically 24 hours. The number of new or fresh copies of the newspaper that are placed in the vending machine should ideally equal this average, hence the term draw. A historical draw, however, identifies the quantity of papers sold from a vending machine over a long period of time while a specific draw identifies the number of papers sold during one specific period of time. The route personnel then reset the price of the vending rack if needed, and collect the cash, usually coins in the vending machine. This is normally termed the daily sales. After becoming familiar with the route, experienced distributors can estimate sales and thereby make adjustments to the draw and hopefully optimize sales. It is advantageous to adjust the distribution at the various vending points so that returns are held to a minimum and yet the draw for each vending point is optimized to the highest practical value in light of historical trends. Historical trends can be readily learned. However, this is often word of mouth data. For instance, a vending machine located at a large factory or office building which is normally fully staffed through the five day work week and which is essentially empty on Saturday and Sunday very likely will have reduced sales for Saturday and Sunday. In similar fashion, sales points located near schools and the like can develop patterns. These patterns may repeat on a weekly basis or perhaps on some seasonal basis. The distributor can develop an estimate for this dependent on the time of year (inclement weather in winter is an impediment to certain sales), the variations resulting from vacations during the school year, and the like. All of these factors are involved in properly sizing the draw for a number of differently situated vending machines.
If the number of vending machines is either varied or the machines are reassigned between different route personnel, the distributors may not know what the draw ought to be and how to make adjustments to the draw in light of the cost of the issue, day of the week, relative timing with regard to time of day, and in accordance with other factors. Moreover, route personnel may be replaced, meaning that the history of the several vending machines on a particular route might be lost, requiring accumulation of the history. The present apparatus and the related method are intended to meet these requirements and to aid and assist route personnel in properly providing a calculated and determined draw for each of several newspaper vending racks, obtain data regarding the returns so that historical forecasts can be monitored and dynamically modified as appropriate, and to otherwise enable route personnel to distribute the draw, collect the cash, collect the returns, and to drive a familiar as well as a new or unfamiliar route on any day of the week or time of the day. Moreover, all the foregoing is accomplished without requiring the personnel to keep hand written records. Hand written records heretofore have typically included a route designation instructing a distributor to stop at a selected number of vending locations such as 40 to 60 stops. Each stop will typically be written out in some kind of sequence, typically to be driven, and each stop will normally be listed with a desired draw, and a blank is provided to list the returns. The cash heretofore has been typically recovered from a vault within the vending machine and poured into a bag or sack for the money. Typically, the total sales recovered from an outlet has been tabulated and written on a route sheet. Collectively, the several pieces of data which might be involved in evaluating a route have been termed a "manifest" which is assembled, stop to stop, with hand written entries. This is difficult to do in view of the fact that the distributor must first man-handle the newspapers placed in the rack, remove the old papers which comprise the returns, perhaps reset the price, empty the cash into some kind of bag and otherwise accomplish this either in the rain or perhaps in the twilight hours before day; all of this represents a difficult effort especially where one is required to capture data on a hand written manifest. The present system sets forth a means and method of accomplishing the foregoing. Moreover, the present system involves addresses or locations for the vending locations, identification of the particular edition, the cost (variable with edition), and the day of the week as it relates to the edition and also as it relates to the historical purchasing patterns. Moreover, historical data is used elsewhere in the system to modify the draw for the vending racks based on historical data.
The present disclosure utilizes a warehouse CPU which is ideally installed where several different newspaper distributors congregate, typically a warehouse, to pick up truck loads of newspapers for distribution as rapidly as the printed copies are available. Each route distributor is provided with a portable computer assembly which has a specified form and shape. Provided with that, and completely devoid of paper manifest sheets, the route distributor can then drive away from the distribution warehouse and begin attendance at the route newspaper vending machines. The person may not know anything about the route, having never seen the precise route before, but the portable computer carried by the distributor provides a LCD screen prompt on the first stop, the second stop, etc. where each prompt instructs that distributor for the stop. Thus, the first prompt is therefore identified as the first stop and the driver is provided with an address or other location information for the first stop. The address can be as simple as 1234 Main Street, clearly providing the distributor with the necessary information to physically locate the first vending machine. That prompt specifies the number of papers that make up the draw for that vending machine. The hand held portable computer is loaded with the price per copy information so that the distributor can drive to the first stop, carry the draw (a stack of newspapers), and load the vending machine. Also, the computer carried by the distributor (in a portable mode) is optically plugged into the vending machine. It is plugged into the vending machine to obtain data from the vending machine as will be described, and can be used also to initiate automatic opening of the vending machine. When opened, the vending machine can then be stripped of the papers from the prior day's edition, these papers making up the return, and the new edition can then be loaded. The optical coupling also sets the paper price.
The portable computer is momentarily electronically coupled to an electronic data capture system within the newspaper vending rack which is equipped with a memory and data is transferred from the memory. This data normally reports the total value of the coins which are the sales since the last loading. The memory also transfers out the time of sale information. Further, coupled with the manually determined return count, data sufficient to enable determination of pilferage is available. Additional information transferred from the route distributor by means of the portable computer includes setting a new price as needed and verification of a clock function within the vending rack to assure that the rack which otherwise operates independently of electrical connection is operated in synchronization with the system. When the distributor walks away from the vending rack, sufficient data has been captured to represent the transactions occurring at that rack and that data is momentarily held in memory for return to the memory at the warehouse CPU when the driver returns to the distribution warehouse. This data enables updating of the historical data as will be described so that the draw can be periodically adjusted dynamically with actual sales volume.
As will be further understood, the collected sales data from individual racks along the route enables verification of pilferage, shrinkage of inventory and accuracy of the reports.
One important item involved in the present disclosure is the preparation of a set of manifest sheets which is substantially accomplished without paper in the field. The manifest data or information is thus prepared by the warehouse CPU for each of several route distributors based at the warehouse. This can be adjusted on a dynamic basis each day, for instance, when particular vending racks are shifted from one route to an adjacent route. This can be adjusted so that the data on the several manifest sheets for several routes is readily available to aid and assist in equalizing or correlating the time required to drive the routes, cash collected, total number of copies per route all in accordance with other important criteria to assure proper operation of the several routes in the newspaper distribution system.